Aidan Cage evades two Pennington players during a 16-8 home win on May 5. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)
By Ken Weingartnet
Aidan Cage loves the rush she feels when the Hopewell Valley girls’ lacrosse team transitions from defense to offense and scores a goal. She and her teammates enjoyed the rush often this season.
The Bulldogs’ potent attack—boasting four players with at least 36 goals in 21 games—proved to be a catalyst in Hopewell’s success this season. The squad’s scoring, up by more than 16 percent compared to the previous two years, helped propel HV to a 14-7 record and berth in the NJSIAA North Jersey Group III semifinals.
Chemistry was key, said Cage, a junior.
“I think all over the field, we’ve been able to put the pieces together one by one and create that overall puzzle that’s complete. That’s something we struggled with in the past, connecting those pieces together,” she said.
Cage, who has been playing lacrosse since third grade, joined current teammate Paige Ackerman as a 100-goal scorer at Hopewell Valley when she netted her hundredth April 17 against Hun. The list also includes Sarah Gronet, Katie Cahill, and Claire Grimwood, who had more than 200 goals in her career.
“Aidan has great knowledge of the game, and is an offensive threat every time she has the ball,” head coach Pam Edwards said. “And she’s such a team player. She’s not all about the stats; she wants her team to be successful. She feeds the ball well, makes great cuts to get open and is the key many times to our team getting either the draw control or loose ball control.”
Of course, that last statement is true of the Bulldogs as a group.
“Our captains have led so well and we play as a team,” Edwards said. “The team understands that every ground ball, draw control, box out all matters. We need everyone to contribute.”
Playing a tough schedule—including the likes of Bridgewater-Raritan, Moorestown, Delaware Valley, Hunterdon Central and Hillsborough—paid big dividends for the Bulldogs, who lost only one game this season by more than three goals.
“It was a little intimidating at first, but the benefits were great,” said senior Ryan Schrader, who was one of Hopewell Valley’s captains along with Katherine Kent and Ackerman. “We saw we could hold our own against these teams.”
Cage said playing a tough Bridgewater-Raritan in the season opener was a momentum builder, even though Bridgewater-Raritan won, 13-11.
“We got killed by them last year and only losing by two (goals) really opened our eyes to the capabilities and potential of our team,” Cage said.
That loss, she said, was more satisfying than a lopsided win over one- or two-win team.
“We learn so much,” she said. “A lot of those players are Division I athletes and they have better footwork and shot selection.”
The highlight of the regular season was Hopewell Valley’s overtime victory against Notre Dame. Schrader scored the winning goal and Kim McDonough helped preserve the triumph by thwarting a final-second rush from the Irish by breaking up a pass.
Hope Anhut led Hopwell Valley in scoring, with 62 goals in 21 games, followed by Cage, Sabrina Schrader, Ackerman and Ryan Schrader, who topped the squad in assists. Cage led in ground balls, followed by McDonough and Sabrina Schrader. Sabrina Gomez handled the duties in goal.
“It’s just amazing what a team can do when they put their mind to it, especially this team,” said Ryan Schrader, who plans to play lacrosse at Salisbury University next year. “We had a few rough years and this year we really stepped it up.”
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